Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Two more pieces from my work in "Turbo". First is an early proposal I did for a full lighting script of the movie (second frame from top right hand corner -freeway shot- by Mike Issak). The other image is a composite of some of the enlarged frames.
Just in case I don't have the time to post anymore before Christmas, Happy Holidays everyone!

Saturday, December 07, 2013

Two sets of sketches I did back in 98 for a graphic novel project that is still somewhere in the back of my head, …"one of them" actually (one of them projects, not one of them heads). They were made with a brush tipped marker I don't remember the name or brand of, but they were great!
Finally, one panel out of my storyboard for the opening sequence for "Asterix and the Vikings", fun project with a fantastic team at A-Film in Denmark.

Tuesday, December 03, 2013

A new book from DC comics written by Carl Potts recently came out, "The DC Comics Guide to Creating Comics: Inside the Art of Visual Storytelling", which by the way I'm very happy to say features a page of my artwork, a page selected out of the original work I did for Framed Ink.
Carl is an incredibly, hands on, experienced professional that has been in the comic book industry for many years as an artist, writer and editor, having been the mentor to some of the big names of these days including Jim Lee, Whilce Portacio and Mike Mignola.
This book offers a very concise look into the specific world of comics, getting into the detail of the essentials and building up from there, the way to make sure all the information is explained clearly step by step and therefore prove useful to the reader.
In this specific narrative media, as in any other, the understanding and learning of such 'grammatical' rules is essential, so that we can then own them and play with them to our advantage when it comes to telling stories, sometimes by sticking to them, sometimes by breaking them while knowing why and how to do it. Besides the visual / artistic side of the trade, Carl also drives you through the basics of how a script works.
To put everything into work under a very practical light, the last chapter of the book basically sums up all knowledge and theory explained in the book through the eyes of four different professional artists (including Carl himself) by proposing a three page sequence exercise in the shape of a script that each artist fleshes out and puts on paper in their own personal way.
It is great to see how each mind works and how the same script can be visualized in different ways to accomplish the desired narrative goals. The chapter does not only provide the reader with the final artwork, but also with the sketches and the actual thought process each artist went through to get there, which is always the core of the whole thing.
I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did!

Monday, November 18, 2013

It was fun! The talk was fun and also having the opportunity of being together again after quite a while, since the four of us (Marcelo, Paul, Armand and myself) work in different studios right now. Here are a few shots Armand just emailed me, fresh from the oven. The other two are works of mine that were displayed at CTNX this year, the first (from Trail of Steel) is a very special one for me, it is the last drawing i did before having a daughter! The second is one of the drawings I did for El Pacifico, pirate adventure graphic novel work which somehow was the origin of the talk we had on Saturday in Burbank.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Hey everyone, it's CTNX time again! time does fly... I'll be speaking and sharing a panel with two great friends of mine, Marcelo Vignali and Armand Serrano on November 16, Saturday, at 2 pm. The session is titled, "The 3 Amigos: A Collaborative Approach From The Artists Point Of View." We will be talking about collaboration, friendship, respect, teamwork, Surf's Up and of course, "El Pacifico", the online graphic novel we developed for a while in a blog of its own. If you'll be there just don't think twice about stopping by and say hello!
Last but not least, here comes a sketch design I did for "Puss in Boots" back in 2008.

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

And some more. A view of Turbo and Guy Gagne in the bad guy's garage. A racing shot. An interior downshot of the garage in the Valley and finally a meditative Turbo on top of a telephone pole. In all of them I was looking for a graphic, fast reading approach, to then eventually add up complexity within it. Again, all of them done with this beautiful tool called Cintiq.

Friday, July 26, 2013

And a few more. The color version of a shot I uploaded last time, a Turbo moment in the house garage (in good old San Fernando Valley), sipping away in front of the TV in the same garage at night, and finally some dramatic angles of a lawn mower at work at the same house.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

TURBO opens today! I'll be posting some of the artwork I did for the movie, mostly inspirational compositions and lighting. The ones that will be buying the art of book will see I have about 30 pieces there. I hope you love the show!

Thursday, June 06, 2013

Long time no see gang! Anyhow, here I found these old (2008) and very early sketches I did for 'Puss In Boots'. Some character movement studies (Ah! good ol' flamenco...) and some spanish city/architectural environments.

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

Hi everyone, I recently got an email with an interesting question that's been asked to me several times. I actually had a (rare) moment to answer... so I did, and here are both mails in case you find the subject interesting (I won't print his name in case he wouldn't like to see it published).
To go with the post, two old drawings (too bad I don't have the time to come up with new stuff lately!)
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"Hey Marcos,
Hope all is well. Just finished reading your book and thought it was great.
I was hoping you could answer a question for me regarding chapter 3.
I understand that we first must compose the light and darks, then the lines, and then finally fill in the details. My question is, do you fill in the "details" using reference material or from memory?
In other words how do you go about filling in the abstract?
Thanks!"
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"Hi, and thanks for reading Framed Ink and your positive feedback on it. Here is my rather lengthy answer...
Mostly I go by memory. Normally I imagine the finished work and pull from there to then put it on 'paper'. Now, this takes a long time of practicing passionately, drawing and drawing and then some, walk down the street and observe everything as it could be a nice frame or image, go home and then draw it. Run into happy artistic 'accidents' while practicing... making sure you can then train yourself to reproduce these at will. Get inspiration from masters, lots of life drawing at studios and on the street, watch good movies and appreciate the visuals... and on and on and on.
One interesting exercise you can do to achieve this is, use an image (a photograph) observe it for a few minutes trying to memorize the bulk of it as well as some important details, hide the picture away and then try to draw it. After you are done compare both and see where you failed, repeat with the same or other images until you learn how to observe properly by starting with the essential and most important details. This will help you create a good memory archive as you then keep observing and observing from life.
Do I use reference? sometimes, but I have to tell you for the feedback I get from people, a lot less than they imagine. Nevertheless, even when using reference you have to make sure you have the bulk of shapes resolved beforehand, and then use the reference that fits into your plan. (obviously references will also be needed in case we need to be accurate in terms of ...specific military uniforms, car models etc, you name it)
There is not one only way to work, some people will feel comfortable using a bigger percentage of reference in their work, as long as they take the adequate inspiration from it instead of just copying, and they manage to make it work for the job, it's all good.
I hope this answers your question.
'Best.
Marcos."

Friday, April 12, 2013

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

Hi everyone, I will have a book signing session on Sunday April 21st at the USC Campus, from 2:30pm to 4pm, Kinokuniya booth #84, signing copies of both 'Framed Ink' and 'Trail Of Steel: 1441 A.D.'I hope to see you there soon!